Allegiant - Online Review

'Within the setup period two recognisable characters from the previous two films are dispatched. I can certainly remember what one of them did.'

Quite who is crying out for the films which make up the Divergent series at this stage is anyone's guess. Certainly, during Allegiant, few of the cast seem interested. The box office returns do not warrant the studio to be ultra interested. And, frankly, having pressed 'play' on Amazon's player, within five minutes I was struggling to be interested.

Within the setup period two recognisable characters from the previous two films are dispatched. I can certainly remember what one of them did.

For the rest of the film we're concerned again with Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James), who still seem unable to decide which side of a wall they wish to be on.

Having succeeded in getting back inside it in the previous film, now outside seems to be the location of choice. It's fitting that the plot has all the sophistication of the hokey cokey. Like the type of travellers who keep far flung hostels in business because they are trying to 'find themselves', Tris, Four and clan wander around generally without purpose, finding themselves within the hospitality of Jeff Daniels' city, before deciding rather inevitably that they don't like it much there either. Being back inside the wall might have been a better choice after all. Shake it all about.

Meanwhile Miles Teller's annoying depiction of his annoying character continues, despite being a prime candidate for the off from very early in the first film. Not only is he an irritant to everyone involved (mainly the viewer), he also breaks the film's own rules, proving largely adept at moving between all of the film's personality traits. He's not the only one that forgot that was 'a thing' however and the main problem here is really that Allegiant has no raison d'être. It's central conceit was shambolic to begin with and now its referred to almost as you would an embarrassing anecdote from a past event you'd rather forget.

In searching for redeeming features it is telling that James is one of the only ones you can land upon. I've long decried the death of the Tom Cruise-style leading man and whilst James is certainly not the answer he is at least a more competent watch than many of his contemporaries. He, at least, does appear to be committed.

That James is a sole interesting feature though is rather telling of how far this franchise has fallen. In a big budget Science Fiction film, the least you should be able to say is that the effects are good and there's a certain level of sheen. It's a struggle to even say that here. A scene involving the stars floating alongside a spaceship is laughable and the production design in general calls to mind things like Buck Rogers. It is, by any measure, not a good look.

Allegiant was playing on Amazon Instant Video.

By Sam Turner. Sam is editor of Film Intel, and can usually be found behind a keyboard with a cup of tea. He likes entertaining films and dislikes the other kind. He's on Google+, Twitter and several places even he doesn't yet know about.